DIY Firestarters

[Xterabl]

There was an idea from a previous thread on this, years ago, which I have used successfully:
Cotton ball in those little wax/paper shallow cups for holding nuts, etc...the real small ones...then pour melted wax in it.

My variant, which I have yet to try:
Break off the business end of a strike anywhere match--to about half length--and put it in the cup before the wax hardens.
Then, you should be able to strike it anywhere to light, and turn it sideways/upside down to get the wax/cotton to ignite.

 

[b63215b]

Xterabl that is a great idea, that could be used on any application fire starter. Thanks that's really handy.

 

[mudbutt]

Would be a good idea, but thanks to the meth makers "real" strike anywhere matches are no longer manufactured in the U.S. They do have new "green" strike anywhere matches, but they are almost worthless.

 

[Xterabl]

Well, I finally got around to implementing the strike-anywhere match idea combined with the wax+cotton swab+small nut cup DIY firestarter.
(These are the nut cups: http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Mini-Party-Cups-White/dp/B0000AE620 )

Along with the cotton ball (or dryer lint if you can manage to save it), just add ~15-18 mg of melted wax (I bought my wax from Michael's arts and crafts store).
It works fantastic! Burn time is ~15 minutes and the all-in-one strike-anywhere functionality is pretty nice.

Luckily I still have about 1/4 large box of good old fashioned strike-anywheres.
As per the previous poster(s), I guess they are now an endangered species.
Ebay still has some, but at a bit of a premium.
Even still, I might buy some.

If there's any interest, I can post some pics and/or a video of the ignition action.

 

[WrongWay]

My go to these days is the small circular make up remover pads. Smear some vaseline on one side and fold over. I keep several in a small medicine bottle. Lights quick even with a flint and steel, but much quicker with a Zippo! Quick, easy, no mess and one pad burns 6 or 7 minutes. I have my camping gear down to a very small kit from trips over the past several years. I used to take a pickup truck full. I like the less is more theory these days!

 

[mudbutt]

If there's any interest, I can post some pics and/or a video of the ignition action.

Yes please...

 

[unabashedpraise]

I just stick a handdul of lint in small brown paper lunch bags. Light the bag and let it go.

 

[Xterabl]

Yes please...

OK, you got it.

Here's a picture showing the materials and equipment used (wax, mini-nut cups, cotton balls, strike-anywheres, iron for hot waxing my snowboard (note, it's probably easier to melt the wax in an aluminum container and just pour it in):

Here's a picture of the "assembly" prior to adding wax:

I made a batch of 10:


Average wax content is ~15 grams

Here's a video showing ignition:
[video]http://videobam.com/UjseR[/video]
The first one lights perfectly; the second one, I set down too quickly and it extinguished before wax ignition. The 3rd one I waited for a little longer before setting it down.
They burned for about 15 minutes.
One comment: after a few minutes the wax melted and spilled out. Probably, it's better to put them right-side up, once the wax ignites.
Material cost is about 15-20 cents per firestarter...based on amazon bulk pricing (i.e. 25 lbs of wax; 250 nut cups; 200 cotton balls).
Apparently the real good strike-anywhere matches are an endangered species; but if you search Ebay and Amazon, you can still find them for as "cheap" as $6-$10 for a box of 250.

 

[mudbutt]

Nice!

 

[mudbutt]

FYI.... Just found these. 3 boxes of 250 each for $7.50. That's a pretty good deal considering they are getting scarce...

http://www.armynavydeals.com/asp/pr...arch=matches&ItemName=Strike Anywhere Matches

 

[JHa6av8r]

I'm curious why do people use fire starters? I could see having them in a survival kit, but not for regular use.

 

[MadMedic]

I'm curious why do people use fire starters? I could see having them in a survival kit, but not for regular use.

"Easier" to get a fire going when your tired after a day of travelling or when conditions aren't ideal.

That and if your situation ever actually turned into a case of survival then the old saying of "better to have and not need than need and not have."

 

[Mike S]

I am low-tech. I just use a piece of pitch pine.

 

[cwadej]

I always liked strike anywhere matches in corrugated cardboard. Coat in parrafin.

Water proof, strike anywhere, light, small.

 

[mudbutt]

I'm curious why do people use fire starters? I could see having them in a survival kit, but not for regular use.

We were camping out by Barstow once and I watched a group of drunken flat bills pile up a crap-ton of fire logs, douse it in gasoline and toss a match on it. After the blaze died down, they still didn't have a fire.

I arranged some kindling in our fire pit ala the "teepee" method, put a fire starter under it (I use egg cartons/lint/wax) and in less than 10 minutes we had a nice big campfire going.